Goldschmidt Fellowship

The Goldschmidt Fellowships are funded by a grant from the Chicago-based Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation and 2020 marks the 7th year of this program. Check out this year’s schedule.

The business journalists chosen as Goldschmidt Fellows attend the five-day SABEW Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop in Washington, D.C., which provides an interactive experience into how government creates and uses data. Fellows meet with national data experts from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, the USDA and more.

The yearly workshop is led by Marty Steffens, SABEW chair at the University of Missouri, and Kevin G. Hall, SABEW past president and chief economics correspondent and senior investigative reporter for McClatchy Washington Bureau.

Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop in Washington, D.C.

Posted By Renee McGivern on Monday November 4, 2019

SABEW’s 2020 Goldschmidt Fellowship data immersion workshop will be Jan. 13 through 17 in Washington, D.C. Fellows will learn from the government professionals that gather and analyze the nation’s economic data.

This is the seventh year of the workshop, which is funded by a grant from the Chicago-based Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation.

Seventeen applicants will be selected as fellows. Out-of-town participants will receive stipends of up to $500 (depending on need and location) toward food and travel costs. Five nights of lodging and breakfast will be provided at the new AC Hotel south of DuPont Circle. Washington-area fellows will receive $75 to offset costs. Participants or their employers must cover any additional expenses. Attendance at all sessions is required.

Employers are expected to give the participants time to learn and not require work during the week. The workshop seeks reporters or editors of all experience levels. All applicants must be SABEW members.

The workshop will focus on understanding how the government uses data, and participants will be able to speak directly with those who compile and manage the statistics. Journalists will talk with experts at Census, BEA and BLS and explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as understand its importance to readers.

Previous fellows praised the program as highly useful. “Hardly a week goes by when I don’t draw on that experience,” said Paul Edward Parker, a business reporter for the Providence Journal and a 2014 Goldschmidt fellow.

The workshop will be led by Marty Steffens, SABEW chair at the University of Missouri, and Kevin G. Hall, SABEW past president and chief economics correspondent and senior investigative reporter for McClatchy Washington Bureau.

Steffens has organized more than 100 workshops, many for SABEW, since she became an endowed chair in 2002. Hall was part of the 2017 Pulitzer-winning team that dissected the Panama Papers.

“Business reporting is a process of continuing education,” Steffens said. “To do the job right, reporters need immersion training, not just spot training. The training is intensive, hands-on and classroom-style.”

Fellows selected for 2019 Goldschmidt data immersion workshop

Posted By sabew on Monday December 17, 2018

20 Journalists Selected for 2019 SABEW Goldschmidt Fellowship

The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) has selected 20 business journalists for the five-day SABEW Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop, which will be Feb. 25 to March 1 in Washington, D.C. Fellows were chosen from a pool of 39 applicants.

The workshop will focus on understanding how the government creates and uses data, and participants will be able to speak directly with those who compile and manage the statistics. Journalists will talk with experts at the Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics and explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as learn its importance to communities.

“Every year, SABEW receives more applications for this fellowship, demonstrating the growing need and popularity of this valuable program. This data-immersion training is a great SABEW member benefit,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW chair and University of Missouri business journalism professor, who will lead the training along with Kevin Hall, chief economics correspondent and senior investigative reporter for McClatchy Newspapers in Washington.

The workshop is made possible thanks to a grant from the Chicago-based Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, a loyal SABEW funding partner since 2010.

2019 Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop Application

Fellows selected for 2018 SABEW Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop

Posted By Crystal Beasley on Monday December 11, 2017

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) has selected 22 business journalists for the five-day SABEW Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop, which will be Jan. 8-12, 2018, in Washington, D.C. Fellows were chosen from a pool of 37 applicants.

The workshop will focus on understanding how the government uses data, and participants will be able to speak directly with those who compile and manage the statistics. Journalists will talk with experts at the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics and explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as learn its importance to readers.

“Every year, SABEW receives more applications for this fellowship, demonstrating the growing need and popularity of this valuable program. This data-immersion training is a great SABEW member benefit,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW chair and University of Missouri business journalism professor, who will lead the training, along with Kevin Hall, chief economics correspondent and senior investigative reporter for McClatchy Newspapers.

The workshop is made possible thanks to a grant from the Chicago-based Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, a loyal SABEW funding partner since 2010.

Fellows selected for 2017 Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop

Posted By Crystal Beasley on Thursday December 1, 2016

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) has selected 22 business journalists for the 5-day SABEW/Goldschmidt seminar in Washington, D.C., in January that will immerse them in federal, economic, and personal-finance data. Fellows were chosen from a record pool of 43 applicants.

Journalists will work with experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as to understand the importance of that data to readers. The group also will get a briefing from economists at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and the Council of Economic Advisers.

The fellows will also learn how Americans are preparing for retirement with an information session from the Investment Company Institute.

The seminar, funded by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, will be held Jan. 9-13, 2017.

“This type of training fills a real need for SABEW. It’s intensive and classroom-style, which helps journalists not only learn skills but get the mentoring they need to put these skills into practice,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW Chair and University of Missouri business journalism professor, who will lead the training, along with Kevin Hall, chief economic correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers.

The Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation has been a loyal SABEW funding partner since 2010.

2016 Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop Fellows

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has selected 21 business journalists for a weeklong seminar in Washington, D.C., in January that will immerse them in data and accounting training.

Journalists will work with experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to explore the large cache of data each agency produces and to understand the importance of that data to readers. They also will visit the U.S. Federal Reserve and get briefings on new investment data from the Investment Company Institute.

The seminar, funded by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, will be held Jan. 11-15. The Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation has been a SABEW supporter since 2010.

“The idea was to create something different than SABEW has done in the past, and this data-immersion program gives time for journalists to really understand the sources of the data they use and learn how to dig deeper into data,” said Jim Goldschmidt, a director of the foundation.

“Some 33 professional journalists applied this year – a record number,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW chair and University of Missouri business journalism professor, who will lead the training. “We received high praise from previous participants, many of whom recommended the training to other SABEW members.”

Steffens and Kevin Hall, chief economic correspondent for McClatchy News Service in Washington, are the chief organizers of the event.

“We are pleased with the quality of applicants and congratulate the 2016 Goldschmidt Fellows,” said Kathleen Graham, SABEW executive director. “The intensive, hands-on and classroom-style training on the intersection of U.S. policy and economics will mark the first certificate training program offered by SABEW.”

The 2016 Goldschmidt Fellows:

Lynn Brezosky, senior reporter business, San Antonio Express-News

Adelaide Chen, data editor, Las Vegas Review-Journal

Patti Cohen, economic reporter/tax policy reporter, The New York Times

2015 Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop- Washington, D.C., Feb. 9-13

Posted By admin on Friday December 5, 2014

Special to SABEW

PHOENIX — The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has selected 20 business journalists for a weeklong seminar in Washington, D.C., in February that will immerse them in data and accounting skills.

Journalists will learn and work with experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Census and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as understand the importance of that data to the public. They will also get special briefings from the Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve, and get briefings on new investment data from the Investment Company Institute.

Additionally, the group will receive training in regulatory affairs from editors at Bloomberg Government. In addition, journalists learn from experts at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) on government accounting and audits.

The seminar, funded by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, will be held Feb. 9-13. The Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation has been a loyal SABEW funding partner since 2010.

“We were overwhelmed by the number and quality of applicants this year,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW Chair and University of Missouri business journalism professor, who will lead the training. “We received high praise from last year’s participants, many of whom recommended the training to other SABEW members.” Steffens and Kevin Hall, chief economic correspondent for McClatchy News Service in Washington, are chief organizers of the event.

In September, I joined the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal as editor of its Real Time Economics site. But while I’ve been designing my own crash-course in the data that underpins our coverage, nothing can replace the kind of intense workshop offered by the Goldschmidt data immersion program. Real Time Economics, as a blog that lives outside the WSJ.com paywall, strives to analyze and interpret economic data for a broad audience. We’re widening our reach on social media and in search, where readers go to figure out the confounding post-recession world. Investing in my expertise raises the literacy of our entire team — and by extension the wide digital audience we’re working so hard to reach.

Emily Bregel, investigative reporter, Arizona Daily Star, Tuscon

As an investigative reporter, I’ve often relied on census.gov for detailed, timely statistics. But I know I’m scraping the surface of the wealth of information available on the Census website and other federal sources. Like many journalists, my economics education is limited to what I’ve picked up on the job. But I know a deeper understanding of the day, and how to parse it, would make a real difference in my investigative capabilities. My reporting has focused on socioeconomic challenges, including entrenched poverty in Tucson. I want to know what public data is available as I report on our business and nonprofit sector and explore potential solutions to our area’s entrenched poverty.

Scott Calvert, mid-Atlantic reporter, Wall Street Journal, Baltimore

In my two decades as a reporter—much of it at the Baltimore Sun prior to my move to the WSJ earlier this year—I have never been a business reporter. But whether working for the metro desk, as a foreign correspondent or on investigative projects, I have often made use of economic data. But I have long wished I knew more. I have also worked on reporting projects involving data analysis. A Sun co-worker and I won the 2011 SABEW Best in Business award in the real estate category for a series of data-driven stories exposing problems with a major property tax break program in Baltimore.

At the Journal, finding stories nobody else has reported is highly prized. A great way to do that, of course, is to mine data and see what picture emerges from the numbers, then flesh it out by interviewing policy experts and “real people.” But first you have to know where to look.

Tom DiChristopher, enterprise writer and web producer, CNBC

I have been writing long-form journalism for more than six years, and hope that by gaining fluency in government data and the processes that produce them, I will be able to more consistently develop stories rooted in the trove of information that the relevant agencies compile. I also expect this experience will help me advance stories beyond headlines on data release days and allow me to serve as a newsroom resource to colleagues who want to deliver timely, sound reporting. Having worked as a broadcast news producer for CNBC for more than a year, I also know how to create compelling, data-driven video. I plan to use this training and the resources available to me at CNBC to continue producing web video.

I am extremely passionate about analyzing numbers and finding the important stories behind the data. I am also part of the new wave of researchers to join the staff of the American City Business Journals with a reporting background, vs. expertise only with research. I spend every waking moment, it seems, searching for new ways to become a better journalist and storyteller. By attending this training in February, I would be able to immerse myself even deeper into the numbers (from the databases that resonate most with readers), and I expect I will be able to come out a much stronger reporter.

Upon my return home from the workshops, I feel that my affiliation with American City Business Journals provides me a huge platform to share my experiences with at least 40 other groups of researchers and reporters at business publications across America’s major markets.

Shane Ferro, economics writer, Business Insider, New York

I couldn’t do my job without government data. I already use it daily. Knowing more about it is probably the best way for me to get much better at what I do. I’d love the opportunity to dig deep into government releases, accounting, and regulations, so that I can be a better reporter and my readers can be better informed.

Quentin Fottrell, consumer reporter, Marketwatch

I write daily articles for The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch site on anything that impacts consumers, so I have an unusually wide beat. That could anything from marriage/divorce and the impact of digital media on our lives to healthcare and the housing market. I often use raw government data to tell a long-term story on subjects such as how long Americans stay in one job, to illustrate how even economists grapple with statistics or the long-term factors effecting women’s participation in the workforce. Of course, I sometimes use information from third parties – academic and industry reports – that analyze government and Census Bureau statistics. Recently, these have included the unemployment rate of millennials and the economic benefits of same-sex marriage. Ultimately, my role at MarketWatch is to inform our readers about wider economic issues in a way that’s easy to understand, and to also explain why they should care about certain statistics that might seem overwhelming. Sometimes, that starts with one data point.

Ron Hansen, economy reporter, Arizona Republic, Phoenix

Knowing more about the operations and offerings of these various agencies would help me better relate what is happening in Arizona’s economy to my readers. During the Great Recession, only one state lost a greater share of its work force than Arizona. This state has recovered more slowly in jobs and spending. Readers here want to know when things are getting better. Having a firmer grasp of the important measures of the economy will give me a fuller understanding of where to look for signs of changing conditions. I have great interest in economics and an unusually deep understanding of numbers and data tools. I teach computer-assisted reporting at Arizona State University’s journalism school, so any information I pick up from the Goldschmidt immersion trip could be shared more widely with aspiring journalists as well.

Stephanie Hoops, business reporter, Ventura County Star

I’m a business reporter with the Ventura County Star and am eager to learn the difference between government and nonprofit accounting, hear from the Federal Reserve and learn about each of the areas to be discussed. Like many newspapers, in recent months we implemented changes and downsized. I am the remaining person left on our business desk and am hungry to breathe new life into my coverage and get ideas from other business journalists. I’d be overjoyed to get an invitation to attend your program.

Irina Ivanova, healthcare reporter, Crain’s New York Business

I’d like to broaden my economic knowledge to be able to look at national issues—not just New York, which is so often a world unto itself. I hope to also get a better understanding of how federal policy plays out on the micro level of states and cities. I’ve made small steps in the data space, helping revamp a data-driven newsletter for Crain’s and reporting a video about the city’s jobs numbers that won a Neal award. I’d like to keep learning and do better in this vein.Topics I’m now pursuing—and that could benefit from a good dose of federal data—include how the Affordable Care Act is saving New York money on Medicare; changes nonprofits are making to respond to stricter compensation laws, and labor unions’ love-hate relationship with health care reform. I hope also that, in the course of these workshops, I can form relationships with those who keep the data and draw on them in future reporting.

James T. Madore, economic reporter, Newsday

I write about the New York-area economy for Newsday, a 450,000-circulation daily newspaper on Long Island. I also report on the connection between government and business, particularly economic development initiatives such as the tax-free zones program, START-UP NY. I’ve been on the beat since returning to the paper’s headquarters after serving as statehouse bureau chief from 2007 to early 2011. I’ve never covered the economy and my educational background – 20th century British history – doesn’t help much. And like most papers, Newsday has lost many seasoned journalists to buyouts so guidance from peers is limited.

Kim Peterson, market and economy reporter, CBSMoneywatch, Gilbert, AZ

I cover markets and the economy for CBS, covering everything from why the Pentagon is helping raise baby goats to why the labor force participation rate is at its lowest level since 1978. I’m good at pulling numbers together on deadline, and yet I just feel like I’m skimming. Like a fisherman with the wrong bait, I can sense that the big ones are there for the taking, just below the surface, and yet I can’t reach them.

This workshop will go a long way in helping me change course. It will teach me how to get at the numbers and, perhaps more importantly, who I can call to help me get there. It’s so hard to cultivate this knowledge on my own, when I’m writing two to three articles a day with little time to even breathe.

Margot Roosevelt, economy reporter, Orange County Register

With 3 million residents, we are the third most populous county in California, and the sixth most populous in the US. Orange County is more than a third Latino and nearly a fifth Asian. Forty percent of businesses are owned by immigrants. Every month, I cover jobs numbers from the state’s employment dept., which relies on BLS and the Census Bureau. I marvel at the many ways those numbers can be analyzed and interpreted. I haven’t begun to plumb the depth of data that the many economic agencies have to offer.

BLS statisticians have helped me with the numbers to write stories about long term unemployment, joblessness among veterans, prejudice against ex-offenders, the dearth of opportunities for recent high school and college grads, the flight of manufacturing. Your workshop would give me the tools to delve into the data myself, to go beyond relying on what a given BLS analyst tells me, and to reconcile the sometimes conflicting sets of indicators from different agencies.”

Samantha Sharf, markets and personal finance reporter, Forbes

I’ve come to love dissecting the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report and have become fascinated by the revisions to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ GDP estimates. At the same time I wish I knew more. The Goldschmidt training would help me deepen my general economics coverage but also provide the skills necessary to further study the Millennial generation. I also write about personal finance for young people. In this beat I offer tips guiding this generation through their unique financial challenges. I also have the opportunity to bust myths about them. In a recent cover story I explained how contrary to popular belief coming of age during the recession left Millennials fiscally conservative and I explored how this fact is shaping the latest financial tech boom. Writing that story was the most riveting experience in my career in part because of the experience of watching my more experience co-writer pull meaning from data that I would have not known to look for. I want to be able to do that and know the Goldschmidt training would be a huge step in the right direction.

Dave Shaw, senior editor, Marketplace, Washington DC

As the editor of the Washington and healthcare desks at Marketplace, the suite of public radio business programs heard by nearly 12 million people each week, I face the daily challenge of translating abstruse and often esoteric information into a form that will be of interest to a general audience. Marketplace programs often rely on government data, so learning the menu of available information, as well as the mistakes economists and others make in interpreting that information, would inform my work every day. I’ve been in my role at Marketplace since last summer, and I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as a “reformed generalist,” which is to say I have broad training and experience in how to create compelling and interesting journalism, but I am still gaining the subject matter expertise that helps me sharpen my story pitches about business and the economy.

Sean Sposito, data specialist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I’m the point person for how the business desk quantifies its reporting. Whether that’s census stats or more arcane municipally collected information, such as an inventory of condition of the city’s housing stock, I’m the go-to-guy. (But) in terms of the numbers behind federal economic data, I don’t have a lot of experience. I’ve never covered the federal reserve, and I’m blind to the ways the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census and a number of other private companies technically tracks numbers through public and proprietary means.This training could help me fill in those gaps. In short, this fellowship could help the newsroom gain a better understanding of how to cover the state as it moves past the recession and economically redefines itself.

Janet Tu, economy reporter, Seattle Times

I am a veteran journalist who has developed expertise in several different fields, from religion to Microsoft. But the data that will be used on the economy beat is new to me. I’m hoping the training will lay the groundwork for developing my expertise in this field, so I can better help Seattle Times readers understand the economic trends and forces that affect their lives. Stories I already have in mind for which such data would be needed include those covering the long-term unemployed, people cobbling together several part-time jobs to make ends meet, what “middle class” is in Seattle – and in America – these days, and what the income and wealth gaps look like in Washington state and the U.S.”

Becky Yerak, financial service reporter, Chicago Tribune

I cover financial services. That beat has expanded to include “earning, spending and borrowing” related to consumers and businesses. I’m so committed to developing my skills that I regularly spend about half of my vacation, on my own dime, to attend journalism conferences. I’ve heard speakers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and have listened to presentations from journalists who use Census data. Last month, I did a story on how much Chicago companies spent on research and development. To put the numbers in perspective, I used Bureau of Economic Analysis data to show how U.S. companies overall were spending on “intellectual property,” including R&D. In 2013, I wrote about a toy manufacturer, and, for context, I included Census data showing trends in the number of toy plants and employment levels over decades. In September, I reported how Illinois companies were cutting their taxes, getting an accounting crash course.Just think – I’m already using data from BEA, Census and others with little training. Imagine how many more stories I could produce after Goldschmidt. The prospect of asking the American Institute of CPAs about corporate taxes has me excited.

Amy Zipkin, freelance, Westport, CT

Amy Zipkin is a freelance business journalist who reports on management, workplace and careers, business travel and personal finance. Her bylines include The New York Times, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal special sections among other publications. She blogs about business trends at www.amyzipkin.com.

2015 Goldschmidt Data Immersion Workshop Fellows

Posted By admin on Monday November 10, 2014

Special to SABEW

PHOENIX — The Society of American Business Editors and Writers selected 20 business journalists for a weeklong seminar in Washington, D.C., in February that will immerse them in data and accounting skills.

Journalists learned and worked with experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Census and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics exploring the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as understanding the importance of that data to the public. They had special briefings from the Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve, and on new investment data from the Investment Company Institute.

Additionally, the group received training in regulatory affairs from editors at Bloomberg Government. In addition, journalists learned from experts at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) on government accounting and audits.

The seminar, funded by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, was held Feb. 9-13. The Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation has been a loyal SABEW funding partner since 2010.

In September, I joined the Washington bureau of The Wall Street Journal as editor of its Real Time Economics site. But while I’ve been designing my own crash-course in the data that underpins our coverage, nothing can replace the kind of intense workshop offered by the Goldschmidt data immersion program. Real Time Economics, as a blog that lives outside the WSJ.com paywall, strives to analyze and interpret economic data for a broad audience. We’re widening our reach on social media and in search, where readers go to figure out the confounding post-recession world. Investing in my expertise raises the literacy of our entire team — and by extension the wide digital audience we’re working so hard to reach.

Emily Bregel, investigative reporter, Arizona Daily Star, Tuscon

As an investigative reporter, I’ve often relied on census.gov for detailed, timely statistics. But I know I’m scraping the surface of the wealth of information available on the Census website and other federal sources. Like many journalists, my economics education is limited to what I’ve picked up on the job. But I know a deeper understanding of the day, and how to parse it, would make a real difference in my investigative capabilities. My reporting has focused on socioeconomic challenges, including entrenched poverty in Tucson. I want to know what public data is available as I report on our business and nonprofit sector and explore potential solutions to our area’s entrenched poverty.

Scott Calvert, mid-Atlantic reporter, Wall Street Journal, Baltimore

In my two decades as a reporter—much of it at the Baltimore Sun prior to my move to the WSJ earlier this year—I have never been a business reporter. But whether working for the metro desk, as a foreign correspondent or on investigative projects, I have often made use of economic data. But I have long wished I knew more. I have also worked on reporting projects involving data analysis. A Sun co-worker and I won the 2011 SABEW Best in Business award in the real estate category for a series of data-driven stories exposing problems with a major property tax break program in Baltimore.

At the Journal, finding stories nobody else has reported is highly prized. A great way to do that, of course, is to mine data and see what picture emerges from the numbers, then flesh it out by interviewing policy experts and “real people.” But first you have to know where to look.

Tom DiChristopher, enterprise writer and web producer, CNBC

I have been writing long-form journalism for more than six years, and hope that by gaining fluency in government data and the processes that produce them, I will be able to more consistently develop stories rooted in the trove of information that the relevant agencies compile. I also expect this experience will help me advance stories beyond headlines on data release days and allow me to serve as a newsroom resource to colleagues who want to deliver timely, sound reporting. Having worked as a broadcast news producer for CNBC for more than a year, I also know how to create compelling, data-driven video. I plan to use this training and the resources available to me at CNBC to continue producing web video.

I am extremely passionate about analyzing numbers and finding the important stories behind the data. I am also part of the new wave of researchers to join the staff of the American City Business Journals with a reporting background, vs. expertise only with research. I spend every waking moment, it seems, searching for new ways to become a better journalist and storyteller. By attending this training in February, I would be able to immerse myself even deeper into the numbers (from the databases that resonate most with readers), and I expect I will be able to come out a much stronger reporter.

Upon my return home from the workshops, I feel that my affiliation with American City Business Journals provides me a huge platform to share my experiences with at least 40 other groups of researchers and reporters at business publications across America’s major markets.

Shane Ferro, economics writer, Business Insider, New York

I couldn’t do my job without government data. I already use it daily. Knowing more about it is probably the best way for me to get much better at what I do. I’d love the opportunity to dig deep into government releases, accounting, and regulations, so that I can be a better reporter and my readers can be better informed.

Quentin Fottrell, consumer reporter, Marketwatch

I write daily articles for The Wall Street Journal’s MarketWatch site on anything that impacts consumers, so I have an unusually wide beat. That could anything from marriage/divorce and the impact of digital media on our lives to healthcare and the housing market. I often use raw government data to tell a long-term story on subjects such as how long Americans stay in one job, to illustrate how even economists grapple with statistics or the long-term factors effecting women’s participation in the workforce. Of course, I sometimes use information from third parties – academic and industry reports – that analyze government and Census Bureau statistics. Recently, these have included the unemployment rate of millennials and the economic benefits of same-sex marriage. Ultimately, my role at MarketWatch is to inform our readers about wider economic issues in a way that’s easy to understand, and to also explain why they should care about certain statistics that might seem overwhelming. Sometimes, that starts with one data point.

Ron Hansen, economy reporter, Arizona Republic, Phoenix

Knowing more about the operations and offerings of these various agencies would help me better relate what is happening in Arizona’s economy to my readers. During the Great Recession, only one state lost a greater share of its work force than Arizona. This state has recovered more slowly in jobs and spending. Readers here want to know when things are getting better. Having a firmer grasp of the important measures of the economy will give me a fuller understanding of where to look for signs of changing conditions. I have great interest in economics and an unusually deep understanding of numbers and data tools. I teach computer-assisted reporting at Arizona State University’s journalism school, so any information I pick up from the Goldschmidt immersion trip could be shared more widely with aspiring journalists as well.

Stephanie Hoops, business reporter, Ventura County Star

I’m a business reporter with the Ventura County Star and am eager to learn the difference between government and nonprofit accounting, hear from the Federal Reserve and learn about each of the areas to be discussed. Like many newspapers, in recent months we implemented changes and downsized. I am the remaining person left on our business desk and am hungry to breathe new life into my coverage and get ideas from other business journalists. I’d be overjoyed to get an invitation to attend your program.

Irina Ivanova, healthcare reporter, Crain’s New York Business

I’d like to broaden my economic knowledge to be able to look at national issues—not just New York, which is so often a world unto itself. I hope to also get a better understanding of how federal policy plays out on the micro level of states and cities. I’ve made small steps in the data space, helping revamp a data-driven newsletter for Crain’s and reporting a video about the city’s jobs numbers that won a Neal award. I’d like to keep learning and do better in this vein.Topics I’m now pursuing—and that could benefit from a good dose of federal data—include how the Affordable Care Act is saving New York money on Medicare; changes nonprofits are making to respond to stricter compensation laws, and labor unions’ love-hate relationship with health care reform. I hope also that, in the course of these workshops, I can form relationships with those who keep the data and draw on them in future reporting.

James T. Madore, economic reporter, Newsday

I write about the New York-area economy for Newsday, a 450,000-circulation daily newspaper on Long Island. I also report on the connection between government and business, particularly economic development initiatives such as the tax-free zones program, START-UP NY. I’ve been on the beat since returning to the paper’s headquarters after serving as statehouse bureau chief from 2007 to early 2011. I’ve never covered the economy and my educational background – 20th century British history – doesn’t help much. And like most papers, Newsday has lost many seasoned journalists to buyouts so guidance from peers is limited.

Kim Peterson, market and economy reporter, CBSMoneywatch, Gilbert, AZ

I cover markets and the economy for CBS, covering everything from why the Pentagon is helping raise baby goats to why the labor force participation rate is at its lowest level since 1978. I’m good at pulling numbers together on deadline, and yet I just feel like I’m skimming. Like a fisherman with the wrong bait, I can sense that the big ones are there for the taking, just below the surface, and yet I can’t reach them.

This workshop will go a long way in helping me change course. It will teach me how to get at the numbers and, perhaps more importantly, who I can call to help me get there. It’s so hard to cultivate this knowledge on my own, when I’m writing two to three articles a day with little time to even breathe.

Margot Roosevelt, economy reporter, Orange County Register

With 3 million residents, we are the third most populous county in California, and the sixth most populous in the US. Orange County is more than a third Latino and nearly a fifth Asian. Forty percent of businesses are owned by immigrants. Every month, I cover jobs numbers from the state’s employment dept., which relies on BLS and the Census Bureau. I marvel at the many ways those numbers can be analyzed and interpreted. I haven’t begun to plumb the depth of data that the many economic agencies have to offer.

BLS statisticians have helped me with the numbers to write stories about long term unemployment, joblessness among veterans, prejudice against ex-offenders, the dearth of opportunities for recent high school and college grads, the flight of manufacturing. Your workshop would give me the tools to delve into the data myself, to go beyond relying on what a given BLS analyst tells me, and to reconcile the sometimes conflicting sets of indicators from different agencies.”

Samantha Sharf, markets and personal finance reporter, Forbes

I’ve come to love dissecting the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly jobs report and have become fascinated by the revisions to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ GDP estimates. At the same time I wish I knew more. The Goldschmidt training would help me deepen my general economics coverage but also provide the skills necessary to further study the Millennial generation. I also write about personal finance for young people. In this beat I offer tips guiding this generation through their unique financial challenges. I also have the opportunity to bust myths about them. In a recent cover story I explained how contrary to popular belief coming of age during the recession left Millennials fiscally conservative and I explored how this fact is shaping the latest financial tech boom. Writing that story was the most riveting experience in my career in part because of the experience of watching my more experience co-writer pull meaning from data that I would have not known to look for. I want to be able to do that and know the Goldschmidt training would be a huge step in the right direction.

Dave Shaw, senior editor, Marketplace, Washington DC

As the editor of the Washington and healthcare desks at Marketplace, the suite of public radio business programs heard by nearly 12 million people each week, I face the daily challenge of translating abstruse and often esoteric information into a form that will be of interest to a general audience. Marketplace programs often rely on government data, so learning the menu of available information, as well as the mistakes economists and others make in interpreting that information, would inform my work every day. I’ve been in my role at Marketplace since last summer, and I sometimes jokingly refer to myself as a “reformed generalist,” which is to say I have broad training and experience in how to create compelling and interesting journalism, but I am still gaining the subject matter expertise that helps me sharpen my story pitches about business and the economy.

Sean Sposito, data specialist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

I’m the point person for how the business desk quantifies its reporting. Whether that’s census stats or more arcane municipally collected information, such as an inventory of condition of the city’s housing stock, I’m the go-to-guy. (But) in terms of the numbers behind federal economic data, I don’t have a lot of experience. I’ve never covered the federal reserve, and I’m blind to the ways the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census and a number of other private companies technically tracks numbers through public and proprietary means.This training could help me fill in those gaps. In short, this fellowship could help the newsroom gain a better understanding of how to cover the state as it moves past the recession and economically redefines itself.

Janet Tu, economy reporter, Seattle Times

I am a veteran journalist who has developed expertise in several different fields, from religion to Microsoft. But the data that will be used on the economy beat is new to me. I’m hoping the training will lay the groundwork for developing my expertise in this field, so I can better help Seattle Times readers understand the economic trends and forces that affect their lives. Stories I already have in mind for which such data would be needed include those covering the long-term unemployed, people cobbling together several part-time jobs to make ends meet, what “middle class” is in Seattle – and in America – these days, and what the income and wealth gaps look like in Washington state and the U.S.”

Becky Yerak, financial service reporter, Chicago Tribune

I cover financial services. That beat has expanded to include “earning, spending and borrowing” related to consumers and businesses. I’m so committed to developing my skills that I regularly spend about half of my vacation, on my own dime, to attend journalism conferences. I’ve heard speakers from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and have listened to presentations from journalists who use Census data. Last month, I did a story on how much Chicago companies spent on research and development. To put the numbers in perspective, I used Bureau of Economic Analysis data to show how U.S. companies overall were spending on “intellectual property,” including R&D. In 2013, I wrote about a toy manufacturer, and, for context, I included Census data showing trends in the number of toy plants and employment levels over decades. In September, I reported how Illinois companies were cutting their taxes, getting an accounting crash course.Just think – I’m already using data from BEA, Census and others with little training. Imagine how many more stories I could produce after Goldschmidt. The prospect of asking the American Institute of CPAs about corporate taxes has me excited.

Amy Zipkin, freelance, Westport, CT

Amy Zipkin is a freelance business journalist who reports on management, workplace and careers, business travel and personal finance. Her bylines include The New York Times, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal special sections among other publications. She blogs about business trends at www.amyzipkin.com.

Fellows selected for 2014 Goldschmidt Data Immersion workshop

Posted By admin on Friday December 13, 2013

SPECIAL to SABEW

PHOENIX — The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has selected 18 business journalists for a weeklong seminar in Washington, D.C., in January that will immerse them in data and accounting skills.

Journalists will learn and work with experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as understand the importance of that data to readers.

The seminar, funded by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, will be held Jan. 12-17.

The group of 18 will also get a special briefing from economists at the Federal Reserve in Washington, and training in regulatory affairs from editors at Bloomberg Government. In addition, journalists will spend an entire day learning from experts at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

That agenda will include coursework on government accounting, SEC filings and non-profit accounting. Participants will also spend a half-day at the Investment Company Institute, accessing key industry and Economic Data from the Private Sector, and understanding the underlying data on retirement investing.

“This type of training fills a real need for SABEW. It’s intensive and classroom-style, which helps journalists not only learn skills but get the mentoring they need to put these skills into practice,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW Chair and University of Missouri business journalism professor, who will lead the training.

The Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation has been a loyal SABEW funding partner since 2010.

The fellows:

Pat Ferrer is economic trends and health care reporter for Fort Collins Coloradoan. She has worked for the Coloradoan for 11 years in several capacities as city editor,
business editor (the position was eliminated in 2012) and now business reporter focusing on data-driven trend stories. She has been an editor and reporter for 30-plus
years in New England, Colorado and Wyoming. She lives in the foothills west of Fort Collins, with her husband, three dogs and two cats.

Howard Fine is a 15-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers state and local public policy issues as they impact Los Angeles area businesses. He also writes about economic development, the local economy, local energy companies and other local companies. An LA native, he graduated from Bates College in
Lewiston, ME. He earned a master’s in journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School.

Darren Fishell is online editor for Mainebiz, a bi-weekly business journal covering the state. A native Californian, he came to Maine for school at Bowdoin
College and afterward worked as a beat reporter in print and online in both states. He was the founding editor of Diamond Bar Patch, in his hometown of Diamond
Bar, Calif., which he left in 2011 to move to Portland, and work at The Times Record in Brunswick, Me. He’s a jazz fan, enjoys the outdoor sights of New England and tries to coax a 1994 Toyota Camry into its 20th year.

Sheryl Jean is a business reporter for The Dallas Morning News. She writes mainly about the state and local economies, but also covers Texas Instruments Inc. and helps cover airlines. Before joining The News in 2008, she worked as a business reporter in California, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island and South Carolina. She’s a long-distance runner, cyclist, yoga enthusiast and world wanderer.

Chris Kahn is Bankrate’s research and statistics editor. He was a national energy writer at The Associated Press from 2008 to 2012. Before that, he covered a variety of subjects at AP, including state and federal courts, legislatures, immigration, sports, and arts and culture in Phoenix, Richmond, Va., and Roanoke, Va. Chris has a master’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He also has undergraduate degrees in physics and anthropology from the University of Arizona. He lives in New York City.

Annalyn Kurtz joined CNNMoney as a reporter in 2010, and has been covering the recovery from the Great Recession ever since then. She writes about jobs, income inequality, Federal Reserve policy, and broader economic issues. Kurtz also works as an adjunct at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where she teaches a course on covering economic indicators.

Li Lin (Linly), originally from Shanghai, China, is a graduate student at the Missouri School of Journalism. Being multilingual, she has traveled around four continents, including a stint working in Mexico. She worked as an online editor for CNBC Asia-Pacific, and was an export reporter at the FT group-affiliated Mergermarket.

Ricardo Lopez is an economics reporter and breaking news blogger at the Los Angeles Times, where he started working in summer 2011. He’s a graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno and grew up in Las Vegas. He’s worked at newspapers in Minnesota, Virginia and Delaware before joining the LA Times. In his free time, he likes to cook, train for half-marathons and spend time with his adopted pitbull.

Gail MarksJarvis is a syndicated personal finance columnist at the Chicago Tribune. She is author of the award-winning book “Saving for Retirement (Without Living Like a Pauper or Winning the Lottery)” 2012, FT Press. She sits on the SABEW Board of Governors.

Amy Martinez is a business reporter at The Seattle Times, where she writes about the Northwest economy and labor market. Her recent achievements include spearheading a four-day, front-page series on Amazon.com, which won a SABEW “Best in Business” award. Before joining the Times in 2006, she wrote about the cruise-ship industry in Miami and North Carolina’s changing economy. She has a master’s degree in American Studies from Florida State.

Kristen Painter is a business reporter at The Denver Post, covering airlines and aerospace. With previous experience as a general assignment reporter at the Post, she is often called on by the metro desk for breaking news, such at last year’s Aurora theater shooting or this year’s Colorado floods. She holds an M.A. in journalism and a B.S. in history. Outside of the newsroom, she is an avid runner, hiker and weekend happy hour patron, soaking up the Colorado lifestyle.

Paul Edward Parker is a reporter and resident data geek at The Providence Journal. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, like most finalists, was robbed. Among other subjects, he covers nuclear submarines and has ridden on a fast-attack submarine to an undisclosed depth below the North Atlantic. He is into genealogy and is descended from William the Conqueror and Lady Godiva, a fact which he has been unable to parlay into discount chocolate. He likes backpacking and is planning a 100-mile Appalachian Trail hike with his 9-year-old this summer and a 20-mile hike with his 7-year-old.

Olivera Perkins is a business reporter for The Plain Dealer, based in Cleveland. Her beat includes labor and employment issues. She was a 2008 Nieman fellow at Harvard University. She has won national awards, including a SABEW Best in Business and awards for business coverage from the National Association of Black Journalists. She has also won several statewide awards, including those from The Press Club of Cleveland.

Joseph Pisani is a business reporter for The Associated Press, based in New York. Born and raised in New York City, Pisani has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. Prior to joining AP, Pisani worked at CNBC. His work as appeared in USA Today and Business Week.

Jason Scott is a Dauphin County reporter for the Central Penn Business Journal. He covers Harrisburg’s fiscal crisis and how it has impacted business. I’m also on the hunt for stories about construction and real estate firms across Central Pa. and state government-related news. He previously works at newspapers in Carlisle and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He invites readers to meet his for coffee and pastries to share story ideas.

Neil A. Shah covers the U.S. economy and demographics from The Wall Street Journal’s New York office. He also writes stories about rock music. He lives in Brooklyn.

Stephanie Stoughton is team leader for government contracting at Bloomberg News, managing a small team of reporters covering the roughly $500 billion U.S. government contracting market. She previously led Bloomberg Government’s team of defense analysts. Before arriving at Bloomberg in 2010, Stephanie was a news editor at the Associated Press in Washington and a business writer for The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Virginian-Pilot.

Dawn Wotapka is real estate reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Wotapka has degrees from North Carolina State and New York University. She has worked at the Raleigh News & Observer and the Long Island Business News and interned at the Los Angeles Times, Newsday and the Dallas Morning News. She lives in Queens with her
husband and two cats. As an Army brat, she has lived in 10 states – including Alabama, Colorado and Alaska – and on a military base in Germany. She loves to run, though
finishing one marathon was enough.

Workshop organizer

Marty Steffens is SABEW Chair of Business Journalism at the University of Missouri. She began teaching 12 years ago after a 30-year career in news, most recently as executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner, and before that the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin. She also worked at the Los Angeles Times, Minneapolis Star, St. Paul Pioneer Press and Dayton Daily News, among others. She’s trained journalists in 30 countries, including a semester as visiting professor at Moscow State University. Most recently, she led an acclaimed session on business data at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio. She’s coauthor of “Disaster on Deadline,” a text on disaster coverage (Routledge 2012). As a newspaper editor, she led several award-winning and Pulitzer-nominated projects. In 2013, she was honored with the SABEW President’s Award. The mother of three adult children, she lives in Columbia, Mo., with her husband and a full house of pets.

Trainer

Rob Wells is doctoral student at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. In August 2013, he earned an MA in Liberal Studies at St. John’s College in Annapolis. A veteran financial journalist, Wells teaches business journalism at the University of Maryland and was a 2012 Reynolds Visiting Business Journalism Professor at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Prior to his academic career, Wells was Deputy Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires in Washington, D.C.; he has also reported for Bloomberg News, The Associated Press and newspapers in California. He and his wife, Deborah C. St. Coeur, live in Crownsville, Md. in a house filled with jazz records and various instruments.

SABEW business immersion workshop on business data to be funded by Goldschmidt donation

Posted By admin on Tuesday October 8, 2013

Special to SABEW

PHOENIX – Reporters who want to learn more about federal data and the business of government are invited to be part of a special immersion training being conducted by SABEW in January.

The weeklong session, Jan. 12-17, is thanks to a $50,000 donation from the Chicago-based Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Family Foundation. The training will bring journalists to Washington, D.C., to climb inside economic and labor data, hear firsthand from the Federal Reserve, and understand the differences in government and non-profit accounting. Partners in the training are the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Standards, the Federal Reserve, Bloomberg Government and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Applications are now being taken. See below.

The workshop will focus on data and accounting skills. Journalists will be able to work with experts at the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics to explore the large cache of data each agency produces, as well as understand its importance to readers.

SABEW and Goldschmidt Family Foundation board member Jim Goldschmidt are in discussions for continued work into 2014, Warren Watson, SABEW executive director, said.

The workshop will be conducted on site by Marty Steffens, SABEW chair at the University of Missouri. Steffens has organized more than 100 workshops, many for SABEW, since she became an endowed chair in 2002.

“Business reporting is a process of continuing education,” said Steffens. “To do the job right, reporters need immersion training, not just spot training.”

Steffens said the training will be hands-on, more like a college experience, led by business journalism professionals.

The 15 journalists will also get a special briefing from economists at the Federal Reserve, and training in regulatory affairs from editors at Bloomberg Government. Journalists from McClatchy’s Washington Bureau will also discuss covering the economy.

In addition, journalists will spend a day learning from experts at the AICPA.

TO APPLY:

Fifteen out-of-town participants will be selected to be fellows and will receive $400 scholarships to cover travel and food costs, in addition to receiving five nights of lodging at the George Washington Inn near the campus of George Washington University.

Two local participants (northern Virginia, D.C. and Maryland) will receive $150 scholarships to cover commuting and food expenses. The participant or his/her employer is expected to cover any additional costs.

To become a fellow: send your resume and a 250-word cover letter to Warren Watson at [email protected] In the letter, please state why you should be selected and what you hope to do with the information you learn.

May 7, 1-2 p.m. EDT: Taking the pulse of your county economy webinar

This webinar is made free to business journalists as a part of a virtual data series supported by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation.

This virtual training will show reporters how to use county Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data to tell the story of how your local economy is faring. This 2018 data of the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis came out in Dec. 2019; it provides a factual framework for how your local economy is doing sector by sector.

Armed with the BEA data, reporters covering the effects of COVID-19 will know which industries to focus on.

By participating in this webinar, you will be able to:
• Find your local GDP data on the BEA website.
• Learn what data is available and what it tells you.
• Come up with story ideas about your local economy based on facts, not your guesses.
• Create a useful chart based on the data.
• Get answers so you can start using this tool right away.

James B. Nelson is business editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He also teaches business journalism and editing at Marquette University. James has been an editor for the Journal Sentinel in business news and, before that, in local news, since the 1995 merger of the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel. He’s a past president and a current board member of the Milwaukee Press Club, and serves on the Milwaukee Press Club Endowment Board, the press club’s nonprofit arm that supports journalism education.

Our presenters

Jeannine Aversa is chief of public affairs and outreach for the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Before joining BEA in the fall of 2011, Aversa was a journalist for nearly 30 years and reported for The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Fairchild Publications and other news organizations. For more than a decade, Aversa’s coverage focused on economics, monetary policy, finance and politics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

Thomas Dail is public affairs specialist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis. He has an MBA from the University of Maryland and a BA in Journalism and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

James T. Madore is the economics writer at Newsday, covering the regional economy and economic development. James has written about business for much of his career, except for six years as a government reporter including a stint as statehouse bureau chief. During his time as media business writer, he was the lead reporter on a team investigating Newsday’s circulation fraud. That and other stories have been recognized with SABEW BIB awards, the National Headliner Award and Investigative Reporters & Editors Awards. James has been at Newsday for 20 years.

The shutdown has crippled parts of the American economy. Which Americans are most affected? Learn how data can help you cover this financial crisis.

Ana Hernández Kent, policy analyst for the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will present a national outlook on consumer debt and the state of wealth for U.S. households. Ana will also focus on which households are most financially vulnerable and wealth inequality by different demographic groups, including millennials, black Americans, and those without a bachelor’s degree.

This webinar is made free to business journalists as a part of a virtual data series supported by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation.

Moderated by Marty Steffens, SABEW Chair in business and financial journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Speaker:Ana Hernández Kent is a policy analyst for the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. She conducts primary and secondary research and data analysis on household balance sheet issues. Her primary research interests at the Fed include economic disparities and opportunity, wealth outcomes, class and racial biases, and the role of psychological factors in making financial decisions.

Fellows selected for 2019 FRED Advanced Data Workshop

Posted By Renee McGivern on Wednesday August 28, 2019

SABEW has selected 16 business journalists for the FRED advanced data workshop at the St. Louis Federal Reserve on Sept. 19 and 20.

Fellows will learn how to graph differing types of FRED data, discover new data releases and find data to help you create new stories. Speakers will discuss how they take the pulse of the American economy, feed that information to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and influence interest rate decisions.

“Working with our partners at the Federal Reserve in St. Louis has created the first-ever FRED workshop for business journalists,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW chair in business and financial journalism, University of Missouri School of Journalism.”It’s invaluable hands-on training for novice and experienced business journalists and will lead to better and more detailed stories.”

FRED advanced data workshop, Sept. 19 and 20, St. Louis

Posted By Renee McGivern on Monday August 19, 2019

SABEW has selected 16 business journalists for the FRED advanced data workshop at the St. Louis Federal Reserve on Sept. 19 and 20.

Fellows will learn how to graph differing types of FRED data, discover new data releases and find data to help you create new stories. Speakers will discuss how they take the pulse of the American economy, feed that information to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and influence interest rate decisions.

“Working with our partners at the Federal Reserve in St. Louis has created the first-ever FRED workshop for business journalists,” said Marty Steffens, SABEW chair in business and financial journalism, University of Missouri School of Journalism.”It’s invaluable hands-on training for novice and experienced business journalists and will lead to better and more detailed stories.”

Member benefits

Posted By Renee McGivern on Friday July 26, 2019

Recognition

Enter SABEW’s prestigious Best in Business award competition and present your work against the brightest journalists in the biz. This is a great way to get recognition for your outstanding work or celebrate a colleague’s achievement.

Networking

Gain access to a member directory consisting of 3,400 business journalists. Network at conferences and local social events. Have fun and make new friends.

Career Advancement

Scout for your new hire, find your next job or secure your latest freelance gig. SABEW events bring together business journalists at every level, creating prime career opportunities.

Training

Take advantage of virtual and in-person training that helps journalists develop their skills and stay current with industry trends.

Credibility

Be a member of a highly respected and nationally recognized organization that stands for ethics, quality, integrity, diversity, accuracy and the highest standards.

Fellowships

Apply for a fellowship to attend an intensive workshop. Learn to make sense of government data through the Goldschmidt Data Immersion workshop or to understand the future of health care costs through the Health Care Symposium.

First Amendment

We work to ensure that the public continues to get a free flow of information and that business journalists have access to reliable information and quality data.

Newsmakers

Gain access to industry leaders, CEOs, government officials and newsmakers at SABEW conferences.

Support Journalism

Give back to the organization and the profession as a mentor, committee member, award judge or board member to shape the future of the industry.

Aug. 16 – Application deadline for advanced data workshop

Posted By Renee McGivern on Wednesday July 10, 2019

SABEW is seeking 20 business journalists for a first-ever hands-on workshop with FRED data at the St. Louis Federal Reserve on Sept. 19 and 20. You’ll learn how to graph differing types of FRED data, discover new data releases and find data to help you create new stories.

If you use FRED data now, or want to add it to your reporting, this session is for you.

Speakers will discuss how they take the pulse of the American economy, feed that information to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and influence interest rate decisions.

Thanks to a grant from the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Family Foundation, out-of-town participants will a two-night hotel stay in St. Louis. Participants are responsible for their own travel to St. Louis. Most meals are provided.

This workshop is an advanced session funded by the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Family Foundation, which generously funds the annual SABEW data workshop in Washington, D.C.

Applications are due Friday, August 16 at 5 p.m. EDT. You’ll be notified by August 22. Click here to apply.

It is being produced by Prof. Marty Steffens, SABEW Chair of Business and Financial Reporting at the University of Missouri. Questions? Email Marty.

Executive Director’s Report May 2018

Posted By David Wilhite on Wednesday May 2, 2018

SABEW18
This year’s conference was all about getting back to the basics and building skills. We’ve seen a number of ground-breaking stories over the past year, and all were done the old-fashioned way — by cultivating sources, digging into documents and data, collaborating with editors, and finding angles that matter most to people. Hats off to SABEW18 conference chairs Bernie Kohn and Bryan Borzykowski and the committee that worked hard to create solid programming and networking opportunities.

New name
SABEW’s familiar acronym remains the same, but the organization has changed its name to the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. The change is part of a broader effort to embrace a global focus on business journalism. Having “American” in the name implied that we did not offer membership or training to international journalists. The rebrand is about engaging and encouraging news professionals from across the globe to become members.

First Amendment Committee
SABEW wants to lead members in efforts to band together to fight fake news, support the credibility of journalism, protect access to information and pursue the truth. To that end, SABEW created the First Amendment Committee to address members’ needs and desires, including advocacy of journalism, at this challenging time for the industry. Over the past year, it has released public statements in support of press freedom, partnered with other groups concerned about protecting the quality of government data, advocated for safety as journalists have experienced unprecedented risks and threats, and offered programming opportunities related to press freedom, transparency and access to data.

AWARD HIGHLIGHTS

2017 Best in Business Awards
We celebrated the 2017 BIB Award honorees at a ceremony on Friday evening, April 27, 2018. The 121 winners and honorable mentions came from all corners of the business-journalism world. One hundred seventy-three news organizations submitted 986 entries across 68 categories. SABEW18 conference attendees were encouraged to attend the “BIB Winners: How They Did It” session to learn from this year’s winners. The 2018 BIB contest opens Dec. 1, 2018.

SABEW Distinguished Achievement Award
Congratulations to Gretchen Morgenson, senior special writer in the investigations unit at The Wall Street Journal, who received the Distinguished Achievement Award at the Best in Business ceremony Friday evening, April 27. The award is given to an individual who has made a significant impact on the field of business journalism and who has served as a nurturing influence on others in the profession. Morgenson shared insights, career highlights and thoughts on journalism during a special Q&A session led by Lisa Gibbs, director of news partnerships at The Associated Press.

Larry Birger Young Business Journalist of the Year Award
Jillian Berman, 28, a New York-based reporter for MarketWatch, was the 2017 winner of the Larry Birger contest. It is the fourth year of the competition. Berman received the award and a $1,500 honorarium at the 2017 SABEW New York fall conference. Thanks to rbb Communications for funding this award and to Josh Merkin for his help shepherding the grant. Deadline for this year’s applications is July 31, 2018.

Membership
We have just over 3,000 members. This includes 2,637 institutional members from 132 media outlets, 51 institutional members from six academic institutions, 175 journalist members, 135 student members and 12 associate members. Keep your membership current and share your Twitter handle by updating your profile in the membership database.

TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS

Monthly training calls
The training calls continue to be extremely popular – since last year’s spring conference, we’ve held 13 calls for over 500 participants. The calls are archived and can be accessed at any time on SABEW.org. Highlights include sessions on freelancing, international trade in the Trump era, the state of press freedom, and how to cover cryptocurrency. We strive to offer a variety of topics and to recruit presenters who represent diverse backgrounds and organizations. Thanks to SABEW members Kim Quillen and Patrick Sanders for leading this effort.

Data-immersion workshop
Our fifth annual Goldschmidt fellowship week in Washington, D.C., was a huge success. Twenty-two business journalists participated in the seminar that immersed them in data and accounting skills. Janet Yellen, then-chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, addressed the group in the historic Fed boardroom. Journalists also heard from experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Participants received special briefings from the Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve. Many thanks for the continued work of SABEW leaders Marty Steffens and Kevin Hall and donor Jim Goldschmidt of the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation for supporting this initiative. The application process for the winter 2019 workshop begins in November.

SABEWNYC17 fall conference
The October 2017 event in New York was a huge success. It attracted some 200 people over the course of two days of programming including a daylong personal-finance reporting workshop produced by NEFE’s Paul Golden.

College Connect
Check out SABEW’s student-written personal-finance blogs on SABEW.org. Topics range from family financial crises to how much outside employment a student should undertake during the academic year. The ongoing program is funded by NEFE. Students from the University of Missouri, Arizona State University and the University of Georgia are the bloggers.

Sixth annual Business of Health Care Summit in Washington, D.C., June 28-30
SABEW is seeking applications for a workshop that will help journalists better understand health-care economics and will provide an update on the Affordable Care Act. Attendees will be able to share and test out story ideas at this summit. Space is limited to 15 journalists. Selected participants will receive a stipend to offset travel-related expenses. Go to SABEW.org to apply. Made possible by a grant from The Commonwealth Fund.

SABEW Canada
SABEW Canada continues to expand and thrive with new members, social events, programs and BIB awards! Bryan Borzykowski, SABEW’s well-known Canadian board member who has been instrumental in leading expansion, now serves as vice president of SABEW.

Finance
In keeping with best practices for non-profits, SABEW conducted an independent audit of our 2016 financials, and we will do so again for the 2017 financials. The audit will help set the table for future financial growth since audits are a requirement of many grant-giving organizations. SABEW will end 2017 with $447,337 in net assets

Membership

Posted By admin on Monday July 24, 2017

The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) has been promoting ethics and excellence in business journalism for more than 50 years. By joining, you’ll connect with a robust organization of more than 3,300 members throughout North America.

Member benefits

Contests and awards

• The annual Best in Business Contest, now in its 25th year. This contest rewards superior coverage of breaking news and enterprise stories in newspaper business sections and pages, weekly business journals and wire services.

• Fellowship programs providing an in-depth look at topics, like government data, and hands-on experience using the information to improve reporting.

We rely on the expertise of Professor Marty Steffens, our SABEW Endowed Chair in Business and Financial Journalism at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Steffens provides experience, wisdom and hands-on curriculum development for programs like the Goldschmidt data immersion workshop.

Other Networking Opportunities

SABEW members are encouraged to use our Facebook page to announce local Meetup events they organize. On occasion, we partner with organizations like National Association for Business Economics (NABE) for a discussion and mixer.

You are eligible for membership if a significant part of your occupation involves writing, reporting, editing or overseeing business, financial or economic news for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, journals, books, press or syndicated services, radio or television, online publications, or other media approved by the SABEW Board of Governors.

You also can qualify if you’re a business journalism teacher, student or a business media subject at a recognized college, university or other organization approved by the board.

Questions about new memberships or renewals may be directed to Tess McLaughlin, membership coordinator, at 602-496-7862, or tmclaughlin at sabew dot org.

Executive Director’s Report May 2017

Larry Ingrassia, managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, received the Distinguished Achievement Award at the Best in Business ceremony at SABEW17 in Seattle on Saturday, April 29.

2016 Best in Business Awards

This year’s transition to a platform-agnostic contest went smoothly thanks to SABEW board members Brad Foss and Xana Antunes and SABEW staff member Crystal Beasley. The contest remains popular, attracting more than 1,000 entries in the U.S and Canada. The 2017 BIB contest opens Dec. 1.

Larry Birger Young Business Journalist Award

William Alden, 27, a San Francisco-based business reporter for BuzzFeed News who covers the technology industry, was the 2016 winner of the Birger prize, honoring journalists younger than 30. He received the award and a $1,500 honorarium on Oct. 7, 2016, at SABEW’s New York fall conference. Thanks to rbb Communications for funding this award and to Josh Merkin for his help shepherding the grant. Deadline for this year’s applications is July 31, 2017.

New First Amendment Committee

New SABEW President Mark Hamrick is creating a SABEW First Amendment Committee to help address members’ needs and desires, including advocacy of journalism, at this challenging time for the industry. We’re currently investing in professional training and have joined 80 journalism groups in an effort to raise press-freedom issues. The First Amendment Committee will be looking for opportunities to be engaged on the press-freedom front, especially as it relates to business journalism. SABEW wants to lead members in efforts to band together to fight fake news, support the credibility of journalism, protect access to information and pursue the truth.

Finance

In keeping with best practices for non-profits, SABEW conducted an independent audit of our 2015 financials and we will do so again for the 2016 financials. The audit will help set the table for future financial growth since audits are a requirement of many grant-giving organizations.

SABEW will end 2016 with a positive net operating income and $370,800 in net assets.

TRAINING HIGHLIGHTS

Monthly training calls

The training calls continue to be extremely popular – since last year’s spring conference, we’ve held 10 calls for just under 500 participants. Calls, including past sessions, can be accessed on the SABEW site. The focus has been to help members develop digital skills and navigate the changing media landscape. The Twitter training was our most popular call this year. Thanks to SABEW members Mary Jane Pardue and Kim Quillen for producing this fantastic program.

Data-immersion workshop

Our fourth annual Goldschmidt fellowship week in Washington, D.C., made possible by a generous grant from the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation, was a huge success. Twenty-two business journalists participated in the seminar that immersed them in data and accounting skills. Journalists heard from experts at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Participants received special briefings from the Council of Economic Advisers and the Federal Reserve as well as briefings on new investment data from the Investment Company Institute. Many thanks for the continued work of SABEW leaders Marty Steffens and Kevin Hall and donor Jim Goldschmidt for supporting this initiative. The application process for the next workshop begins in November.

College Connect

Check out SABEW’s student-written personal-finance blogs on sabew.org. Topics range from family financial crises to how much outside employment a student should undertake during the academic year. The ongoing program is funded by NEFE. Students from the University of Missouri, Arizona State University and the University of Georgia are the bloggers.

Health-care training for business journalists

Following the election of Donald Trump, who vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, SABEW was able to provide tele-training less than a week later. Less than a month later, SABEW held a three-day symposium at the Bloomberg offices in Washington, D.C., for 15 fellows. The Dec. 1-3, 2016, symposium focused heavily on helping reporters understand what ACA changes might occur. This also followed a panel discussion at the SABEW New York fall conference in October titled Affordable Care Act Under Duress: What’s Next? Through the generosity of The Commonwealth Fund, this annual program is in its fifth year.

SABEWNYC16 fall conference

The October event in New York was a huge success, attracting some 200 people over the course of two days of programming. The executive director of CUNY’s McGraw Center for Business Journalism, Jane Sasseen, produced the third annual symposium on the challenges and opportunities news executives face in reshaping their newsrooms – and their coverage – amidst the rapid mobile, social and video changes underway. NEFE’s Paul Golden produced a daylong personal-finance reporting workshop. The 2017 workshop is Oct. 12-13 at CUNY.

SABEW18

We’re back to Washington, D.C., for the 2018 conference. Submit your program ideas during our call for sessions, and please take the SABEW17 post-conference survey!

MEMBERSHIP

Membership numbers

We have just over 3,000 members. This includes 2,721 institutional members from 132 media outlets, 186 journalist members, 122 student members and 15 associate members. Keep your membership current and share your Twitter handle by updating your profile in the membership database.

SABEW Canada

SABEW Canada continues to expand and thrive with new members, social events, programs and more BIB entries than last year! Bryan Borzykowski, SABEW’s well-known Canadian board member who has been instrumental in leading expansion, has joined the executive ladder as SABEW secretary.

Kevin G. Hall receives SABEW’s top honor

Kevin G. Hall, chief economics correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers, was recognized by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers with one of the highest honors, the President’s Award.

Hall received the honor Friday, Oct. 7 during the SABEW fall conference held at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in Midtown Manhattan.

Hall, a former SABEW board member and past president, is being honored for his service to the Society of American Business Editors & Writers and his commitment to raising the standards of business journalism.

“Kevin has been a tireless, hands-on advocate for SABEW for years, as a board member, president, conference planner, fundraiser, mentor and strategic thinker,” said SABEW President Cory Schouten. “SABEW events wouldn’t be the same without Kevin’s smart insights, positive attitude, signature bow ties, and knack for finding great live music in every city we visit. There’s no one at SABEW more deserving of this award.”

Kevin shared the 2016 Gold Barlett & Steele Award as part of the Panama Papers team, and is a 2010 Pulitzer finalist and Loeb Award winner for reporting on Wall Street and the financial crisis.

From 1999 to 2005 Hall was Knight Ridder’s Brazil-based South America bureau chief, and won the Sigma Delta Chi for Best Foreign Correspondence in 2004. Hall was the 2013-14 president of SABEW and co-coordinates its annual Goldschmidt data-immersion fellowship.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by an organization that so strongly supports both professional development and fraternity in business reporting,” said Hall.

SABEW D.C. workshop dives deep into data

Last week’s Goldschmidt data immersion workshop in Washington reminded me once again of SABEW’s unique role in mentoring and training business journalists. For the roughly two dozen participants the week offered unparalleled access to research analysts, data experts and policymakers.

In a whirlwind week we took a deep dive into data with an alphabet soup of agencies and associations, including the ICI, BEA, CEA, BLS and FDIC, among others. The fellows and guests who joined the sessions came from small newspapers and large ones, from websites and real-time news agencies, and we all gained valuable insights into how to find data to help us tell our stories.

I was particularly impressed by a visit to the U.S. Census in Suitland, Md., where we spent a full day learning ways to navigate one of the government’s biggest and most valuable data stores. The massive building with its strict security protocol offered a hint at the huge scope of the bureau’s operation, conducted online, by mail, over the phone and in person. Data collection at the Census now goes far beyond the bureau’s Constitutional mandate (emblazoned on a wall high above the entrance hall) to count the nation’s population every 10 years.

Other highlights included an informal discussion of the economy with a “senior White House adviser” in the stately Old Executive Office Building, overlooking the West Wing of the White House. Yes, I feel a bit silly using that Beltway jargon, but despite our earlier understandings press aides insisted that the discussion be off the record.

Not so with Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell who answered our questions and offered a spirited defense of the central bank, denouncing congressional proposals to “audit” the agency, saying they would amount to congressional meddling policy in a way that would damage the economy.

University of Missouri SABEW business journalism Prof. Marty Steffens ran us ragged during the week, but the visiting fellows still managed to bond over some memorable dinners and drinks at watering holes near our home base in Foggy Bottom. Sean Sposito of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution lived up to his self-proclaimed title of “strongest man in journalism,” hoisting me into the air at the Federal Reserve building as we ended the program.

The week came about only through the influence and connections of SABEW, including immediate past President Kevin Hall, whose relationship with longtime business editor Jim Goldschmidt was key to securing a generous $30,000 grant from the Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation that allowed us to put on the program. Hall and Steffens were untiring in their efforts to secure top-notch presenters, putting together a program that would be hard for any individual journalist or news organization to duplicate.

Things just came together in the way they often do at SABEW events, as Marty Steffens made the most of her limited budget to offer valuable training opportunities to as many business journalists as we could from students to accomplished mid-career professionals. As one of the fellows put it, “This training is costing my employer about $100, and it’s worth many times that.”

“Such a great week. I learned a ton and really enjoyed getting to know you guys,” said Scott Calvert, Mid-Atlantic reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

Hall, in a concluding note to fellows, offered this: “Stay in touch with each other and us at SABEW. It was the fraternal aspect that pulled me into the organization and keeps me there. We are a curious and privileged bunch to get to do what we do and make a living from it!”

In addition to the agencies mentioned above, I’m grateful to Bloomberg News and the AICPA for contributing to the program. We’ll be posting notes and slide soon on the SABEW website. We hope to offer similar training opportunities in the future, so stay tuned. And some of what we learned will be incorporated to future training sessions, including distance learning sessions and in-person sessions at future conferences.

In the not-too-distant past, SABEW was known mostly for networking and access to newsmakers. But as last week’s session demonstrated, we have evolved into a group that is devoted to recognizing and encouraging excellence in business journalism through training and mentoring. And it’s still a darn good place for networking.

Kevin G. Hall

Posted By admin on Tuesday May 27, 2014

Kevin G. Hall is a senior investigator and chief economics correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers. He shared the 2016 Pulitzer Prize as part of the Panama Papers team, and is a 2010 Pulitzer finalist and Loeb Award winner for reporting on Wall Street and the financial crisis. From 1999 to 2005 Hall was Knight Ridder’s Brazil-based South America bureau chief, and won the Sigma Delta Chi for Best Foreign Correspondence in 2004. Hall was the 2013-14 president of SABEW and co-coordinates its annual Goldschmidt data-immersion fellowship.

PHOENIX — A record number of sponsors and exhibitors took part in the 50th annual SABEW conference and gala in Washington April 4-6. As of late February, commitments topped $150,000, which will help fund SABEW educational, training and operations.

Bloomberg News was once again a lead sponsor for the three-day conference held at the Marvin Conference Center at George Washington University. Other lead sponsors included the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business Journalism, National Endowment for Financial Education and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Other returning conference sponsors were the Goldschmidt Family Foundation, Financial Times, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, McClatchy Newspapers, Google, Grupo Salinas, and B2BCFO.

New sponsors included AOL, the University of Maryland, the Los Angeles Times and the American Institute of CPAs.

Bloomberg and Reuters were lead sponsors for the gala dinner on April 6 at the historic Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Other galas sponsors were Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and AOL.

About 20 companies exhibited at the conference, including Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Medicare News Group, B2BCFO, Associated Press, National Endowment for Financial Education, NeighborhoodWorks, IESE, BusinessWire and the Rotman School of Management in Toronto.

2012 Fall Conference – NYC

Posted By admin on Monday April 2, 2012

NEW YORK —More than 200 journalists and others attended SABEW’s fall conference Sept. 27-28 at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.

Participants, including students and academics as well as business journalists, heard from luminaries from business and government and also attended sessions ranging from the business of health care, to private equity, to social media.

The highlight of the two-day conference was the presentation of SABEW’s highest honor, its distinguished achievement award to Diana Henriques , veteran reporter at The New York Times and author of the best-seller, “The Wizard of Lies.” She was honored at a Thursday-night reception and participated in a public conversation about investigative reporting with Jill Abramson, executive editor of the Times.

“The sessions were great. Every one of them,” said attendee Steve Pounds, a SABEW member.

Some highlights of the two days:

· Lex Fenwick, CEO of Dow Jones, the opening keynote speaker on Sept. 28, extolled the value of quality journalism as media works through a continuing period of flux. In particular, he told interviewer Lisa Gibbs, “(Digital) is one of the greatest opportunities afforded to us.”
· Robert Khuzami, the direct of enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, often criticized for not moving aggressively enough against white-collar crime, got a zinger of a first question from interviewer Floyd Norris, Asked Norris: “So why is it that the SEC doesn’t put more people in jail?”
· In a discussion of the business of health care, Sara Collins a vice president of The Commonwealth Fund, told the audience that actions surrounding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, are very much still developing. “The new insurance market exchanges that are part of the act will be a hug change in the business.”
· And Alex Wayne, a reporter at Bloomberg News, echoed Collins, noting that some states balking at the development of those exchanges might have a change of heart. “States will have enormous pressure to take the (federal) money. GOP governors may find that they really don’t want the federal government to take over their market exchanges.”

Distinguished Achievement Award goes to Diana Henriques

The award, which is SABEW’s highest honor, is given annually to someone who has made a significant impact on the field of business journalism and who has served as a nurturing influence on others in the profession.

“We could think of no one who meets this criteria more than Diana,” said Kevin Noblet, immediate past president and chair of the selection committee. “Her investigative reporting sets a high standard for all of us in terms of rigor and relevance. And she has been so generous to those who ask her help to become better professionals.”

A reporter for The New York Times since 1989, Henriques has largely specialized in investigative reporting on white-collar crime, market regulation and corporate governance.

She was a member of The New York Times’ reporting teams that were Pulitzer Prize finalists for coverage of the 2008 financial crisis and the aftermath of the Enron scandals.

Conference Coverage

by DORIANNE R. PERRUCCI, journalist, editor and coauthor of the book Asset Allocation for Dummies.

For just a moment, the investigative reporter didn’t know how to answer the question. “You are drawn to dark corners,” said Julie Abramson, editor of The New York Times, leaning closer. “What fascinates you most?” Read more…

Social media was the topic du jour for the 2012 Fall SABEW conference and leading the Friday morning panel was Columbia University’s Sree Sreenivasan, a longtime professor with a newly minted title, chief digital officer. Possibly the most revealing, and entertaining moment of the workshop was when he began the lecture by casually asking the room which hash tag they were using to disseminate tweets for the event. Read more…

In describing the operation of a news organization, Gary Silverman, deputy U.S. managing editor of the Financial Times, likened it to a jazz band. Reporters and editors are to know their instrument. Together, the band works to be “direct, immediate, and in the moment.” Read more…

Lex Fenwick seems to have a knack for switching up longtime tendencies. Earlier this year, he accepted the position of CEO of Dow Jones and Co. The move came after 25 years at Bloomberg. In his conversation with Lisa Gibbs of Money Magazine, Fenwick said making the decision was scary, “like leaving part of the family, knowing you will never come back.” Read more…

Journalists must use social media to reach a wider audiences, a panel of experts told SABEW’s fall conference Sept. 27. Lewis DVorkin of Forbes and Emily Peck of the Huffington Post discussed in their panel how their newsrooms are utilizing social media, the debates that arise from using social media and emerging platforms. Read more…

An economics correspondent, Merrill Lynch economist, Bloomberg tax writer, and a tax lawyer all offered insight at the SABEW fall conference into covering one of the U.S. biggest policy conundrums: the fiscal cliff. Read more...

By KELSEA WASUNG, journalism student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism

At the 2012 Fall Society of American Business Editors and Writers conference, a panel of three media professionals and experts, shared their views on hiring in the changing media industry and the skills needed to obtain a job. Read more…

By VIVIAN PADILLA,journalism student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism

In today’s field of journalism the outlets for reporting are many, but rising to the top can be claimed if a loyal audience supports the organization. How can a newspaper, magazine, television program or online content thrive without a following? To hook the audience with content is key, but maintaining the viewers or readers is approached differently by each organization. Read more…

By BLAKE WILSON,journalism student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism

The changing journalism requires the use of all types of social media. The Society of American Business Editors and Writers fall conference, in part, explored what role social media is playing in the currently evolving future of media. Read more…

By CALE OTTENS,journalism student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism

Tears of joy filled the eyes of Diana Henriques, a longtime investigative reporter for the New York Times, as SABEW’s Kevin Noblet presented her with the business writers and editors organization’s highest honor, SABEW’s distinguished achievement award. Read more…

By KEVIN KELLER,journalism student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism

A positive outlook for business journalism means that investment in it is definitely merited, Dow Jones CEO Lex Fenwick told SABEW’s Fall Workshop at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. Read more…

SPEAKERS

Jill Abramson

Jill Abramson is executive editor of The New York Times, a position she assumed in September 2011. She is the highest-ranking editor and first woman to lead the Times newsroom in its 160-year history.
Abramson was managing editor from 2003 until 2011. As managing editor, she helped supervise the coverage of two wars, four national elections, hurricanes and oil spills. She was also deeply engaged in the newsroom’s effort to change its approach to the dissemination of news and to expand to new and varied digital and mobile platforms. Abramson joined The New York Times in 1997. She was named Washington bureau chief in 2000 and served in that position until 2003.
Abramson worked at The Wall Street Journal from 1988 to 1997. While there, she served as deputy bureau chief in its Washington, D.C., bureau and investigative reporter, covering money and politics.

Lex Fenwick

Lex Fenwick, CEO of Dow Jones became CEO of Dow Jones in February after 25 years at Bloomberg. Fenwick joined Bloomberg in 1987 and spent much of his early years as manager of Bloomberg operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He served as chief operating officer of Bloomberg L.P. under Michael R. Bloomberg and, when his boss ran for mayor of New York City in 2001, Fenwick became chief executive. He later founded and led a Bloomberg L.P. subsidiary, Bloomberg Ventures.

Robert Khuzami

Robert Khuzami is Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement chief. For 11 years just before his February 2009 appointment as SEC enforcement division director, Khuzami served as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
There he served as chief of that office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force for three years. According to the SEC, in that role, Khuzami “prosecuted numerous complex securities and white-collar criminal matters, including those involving insider trading, Ponzi schemes, accounting and financial statement fraud, organized crime infiltration of the securities markets, and IPO and investment adviser fraud.”

Andrew Ross Sorkin

Andrew Ross Sorkin is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a financial columnist for The New York Times and a co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box. He is also the founder and editor of DealBook, a financial news service published by The New York Times.

Sorkin joined The Times full time in 1999 as the newspaper’s European mergers and acquisitions reporter, based in London, and the following year became The Times’ chief mergers and acquisitions reporter, based in New York, a position he still holds.

Bethany McLean

Before joining Vanity Fair as a contributing editor in 2008, Bethany McLean was an editor-at-large for Fortune magazine. McLean is the co-author, with Fortune colleague Peter Elkind, of The Smartest Guys in the Room, exposing the corrupt business practices of Enron officials. The book was the result of reporting she did for Fortune. The article titled “Is Enron Overpriced?” was published in the March 5, 2001 issue. The book was later made into the Academy Award nominated documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

She co-authored a book with New York Times columnist Joe Nocera on the 2008 financial crisis titled All the Devils Are Here, (November 2010). It details the crisis and concludes that banks understood the big picture but continued with bad practices. McLean is also a financial columnist for Reuters.

Floyd Norris

Floyd Norris is the chief financial correspondent of The New York Times and writes a weekly column for the financial section.

He was named to that post in September 1999, after spending a more than a year as a member of The Editorial Board of The Times. He joined the paper in October 1988 as a financial columnist, a position he held until he joined the Editorial Board in May 1998.

Before joining The Times, Mr. Norris had been with Barron’s National Business and Financial Weekly since December 1982, where he began as a staff writer and subsequently was promoted to stock market editor. He began writing “The Trader” column in mid-1983 and was cited by the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants for outstanding reporting on accounting issues in 1984. In 1998, he was cited by the Financial Writers Association of New York for outstanding lifetime achievement.

Dr. Herbert S. “Pug” Winokur Jr.

Dr. Herbert S. “Pug” Winokur Jr. is a managing partner at Celerant Capital with over 20 years of private equity investment experience. Winokur founded Capricorn Holdings, Inc. and has been its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 1987.

From 1983 to 1987, he served as senior executive vice president, a Member of the office of the President, and Director at Penn Central Corporation. He served as president of American Financial Group Inc.. Winokur also served as senior management positions at Pacific Holding Corporation, where he completed over $8 billion in transactions and at The Palmieri Company. He also worked in the office of Secretary of Defense. Winokur has been a Director of various public and private entities.

Winokur holds Ph.D., A.M., and A.B. degrees from Harvard University.

Nik Deogun

Nik Deogun is the senior vice president and editor-in-chief, Business News, overseeing Business Day content, coverage and production.

Deogun joined CNBC in 2010 as managing editor, business news. He came to CNBC from “The Wall Street Journal,” where he was the deputy managing editor since July 2008. Deogun oversaw all financial coverage for the news organization and directed the Journal’s international network of bureaus and correspondents. Prior to this, Deogun was editor of the Journal’s Money & Investing section, where he oversaw coverage of Wall Street, banking, hedge funds, private equity, mutual funds, financial markets, investing and personal finance.

Nicholas Carlson

Nicholas Carlson is a deputy editor at Business Insider who has written extensively about Facebook, Twitter and Groupon, among other companies. He is a contributor to Bloomberg Television’s biography series “Game Changers” and a frequent guest on CNBC. Previously, he reported for Gawker Media’s Silicon Valley gossip blog, Valleywag. He got his start on the beat at InternetNews.com.

Lisa Gibbs

Lisa Gibbs is a Senior Writer at MONEY magazine, covering primarily insurance and real estate. Before joining the magazine in 2009, she was the Executive Business Editor of the Miami Herald. Gibbs is on the board of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW). She co-chairs the Best in Business contest and works on SABEW’s international committee.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush is founding director of the Carolina Business News Initiative, which provides training for professional journalists and students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is also the author of two books about business journalism – Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication (2004) and Profits and Losses: Business Journalism and its Role in Society (2006) – as well as author or co-author of books about Progress Energy (2008), Home Depot (1999), Pacific Coast Feather Co. (2006) and Alex Lee Inc. (2006). He has also taught business journalism at Washington & Lee University and the University of Richmond.

He also was managing editor of the SABEW web site and blogs about business journalism at www.talkingbiznews.com. For three years, he wrote a twice-monthly blog called “The Roush Rant” for the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, where he was a lead instructor for six years. He has also created a website on the history of business journalism and a web site for college students interested in careers in business journalism.

Jill Jorden Spitz

SABEW president Jill Jorden Spitz is assistant managing editor for the Arizona Daily Star in her hometown of Tucson. She formerly was the paper’s business editor, and before that covered Walt Disney World and Universal Studios for the Orlando Sentinel.

Kevin G. Hall

Kevin G. Hall, the former South America bureau chief, is the McClatchy bureau’s national economics correspondent. During a 25-year career he has worked in Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and has reported from across the globe. He is the 2004 winner of the Sigma Delta Chi award, given by the Society of Professional Journalists Award for best foreign correspondence. A member of the National Economists Club, Hall is also on the executive committee of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the nation’s premier association for business journalists.

In 2010, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for national reporting (along with colleagues Greg Gordon and Chris Adams) for detailing in 2009 how Wall Street sold out investors and caused the nation’s deep financial crisis. They shared the University of Southern California’s Loeb Award for that package. He is also the 2011 recipient of the Weidenbaum Center Award for Evidence-Based Journalism, given by Washington University in St. Louis.

Jodi Schneider

Jodi Schneider is the team leader in charge of tax policy and Congressional coverage for Bloomberg News, working from the Washington, D.C. Bureau. She supervises the team handling these coverage areas for various Bloomberg entities. Jodi joined Bloomberg in November 2010. She has been a financial editor in Washington, D.C., for the past 17 years. Previously, she was local business editor at The Washington Post, an assistant managing editor at U.S. News and World Report magazine, and economics and finance editor at Congressional Quarterly.

Before coming to Washington, she was a deputy managing editor at the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel and before that, was an editor and writer at newspapers in Colorado and Wisconsin. Jodi is a past president and active member of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW).

Michael Hanson

Michael Hanson is a senior U.S. economist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Hanson has nearly 20 years of experience as an economist in financial markets, the Federal Reserve System and academia. In his current role, he is responsible for analysis of Federal Reserve and budgetary policy and modeling the U.S. economy, with particular emphasis on inflation. He meets regularly with clients across the firm’s business lines, publishes weekly commentary on economics and policy and has appeared in printed, radio and televised media.

Prior to joining the firm, Hanson worked as an economist in the Monetary Affairs division of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and as a senior economist at Lehman Brothers. He also has held positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Wesleyan University and Yale School of Management. He has published academic research in macroeconomics, monetary policy and econometrics.

Mr. Hanson graduated cum laude with honors from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelor’s degrees from both the College of Arts and Sciences and The Wharton School. He earned his master’s degree in mathematics at New York University and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

Deborah Brewster

Deborah Brewster is the deputy managing editor of The Wall Street Journal. She is responsible for training, recruitment and staffing in addition to the Journal’s use of design and graphics. Ms. Brewster joined the Journal in 2009 after previously working for 10 years as a journalist for the Financial Times where she was an editor and also a writer.

Before the Financial Times, Brewster was communications correspondent — from 1994 to 1998 — for the newspaper The Australian.

Before that, she worked at The Age newspaper, based in Melbourne, Australia. At The Age she was at first personal finance editor, and then the newspaper’s business editor, becoming the first woman to hold that position. She was in charge of the daily business section in addition to the property, personal finance and technology sections. She began her career in journalism as a writer for Australian Investment magazine in 1987.

Born in Indonesia, Brewster earned her bachelor of arts degree with honors from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She lives in Manhattan.

Sree Sreenivasan

Sree Sreenivasan is an academic administrator, professor and technology journalist based in New York City. In July 2012, Columbia University named Sreenivasan its first chief digital officer. Prior to that, he was the dean of student affairs and digital media professor at the Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. His courses focus on new media, web design and social media.

Sreenivasan helped found SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association, a group of over 1,000 journalists ofSouth Asian origin in the U.S. and Canada, and served as its first president. Sree has also worked in local television in New York. From 2009 through 2011, he helped launch and develop DNAinfo.com, a hyperlocal news startup covering Manhattan.

Josh Tyrangiel

Josh Tyrangiel is editor of Bloomberg Businessweek. He joined the magazine following its acquisition by Bloomberg L.P. in December 2009. Earlier, Tyrangiel was deputy managing editor of Time magazine and managing editor of time.com.

Tyrangiel joined Time in 1999, holding various positions including assistant managing editor, national editor, and London correspondent. He was also a music critic for Time from 2001-2009. Tyrangiel attended the University of Pennsylvania and received his master’s degree in American Studies from Yale University. Before coming to Time, he worked at Vibe and Rolling Stone magazines and produced the news at MTV. He joined Time in 1999 as a staff writer and music critic.

Karen Danziger

Karen Danziger is a managing partner of The Howard-Sloan-Koller Group in New York City and directs the firm’s recruitment in the areas of cross-platform content and creative direction, as well as public relations and corporate communications. She leads business development and execution of searches for senior-level content, creative and communications talent across all media platforms, while also participating in marketing and general management searches.

Karen has a BA in journalism and political science from the University of Michigan.

Gillian Tett

Gillian Tett is a British author and award-winning journalist at the Financial Times, where she is the U.S. managing editor. She has written about the financial instruments that were part of the cause of the 2008 fiscal crisis. She was named Journalist of the Year by the British press in 2009 and won the Spear’s Award for Financial Book of the Year for her Fool’s Gold.

In 2007 she was awarded the Wincott prize, the premier British award for financial journalism, for her capital-markets coverage. She previously served as the newspaper’s Tokyo bureau chief, economic correspondent, and foreign correspondent. She speaks regularly at conferences around the world on finance and global markets. She has a doctorate in social anthropology from Cambridge University.

Greg McCune

Greg McCune of Reuters is a past SABEW president. He has more than 30 years of business journalism experience including more than 25 with Reuters. He has written and edited business news in five countries — the United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium and Australia. He was Reuters’ chief correspondent in Canada (1992-1996), Washington bureau chief (1996-2000) and Chicago bureau chief (2000-2004).

McCune was appointed training editor in 2004, with a key responsibility for career development and training for some 600 Reuters editorial staff in the Americas. He now serves as editor in charge of the Reuters America Service, based in Chicago. With SABEW, he also coordinated the Best in Business competition. As president at SABEW in 2009-10, he oversaw the hiring of a new executive director and the transition to a new office in Phoenix at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Julie Hartenstein

Julie Hartenstein has been affiliated with the Graduate School of Journalism since 1997, when she joined the adjunct faculty. Subsequently, she taught full time in the M.S. degree program, broadcast concentration for five years (RW1, Television News Magazine and Columbia News Tonight workshops) and joined Career Services as associate director in September 2005.

Prior to coming to Columbia, Hartenstein spent 17 years at ABC Network News. She was originally hired as a researcher on the original staff of ABC News Nightline when it emerged as a nightly program from the American Held Hostage updates in 1980. For most of her 10 years on the broadcast, she worked as an editorial producer and field producer, covering a wide range of national and international stories.

Her next assignment was as a producer of American Agenda segments on ABC News World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. She also worked as an assignment editor, produced for Good Morning America, 20/20, helped develop correspondent talent for ABC News and has served as a freelance program consultant on various projects.In 1985 she was awarded the Benton Fellow in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Chicago, and spent 7 months studying clinical medical ethics.

Sara R. Collins

Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., is vice president for Affordable Health Insurance at the Commonwealth Fund. An economist, Dr. Collins joined the Fund in 2002 and has led the Fund’s national program on health insurance since 2005. Since joining the Fund, Dr. Collins has led several national surveys on health insurance and authored numerous reports, issue briefs and journal articles on health insurance coverage and policy. She has provided invited testimony before several Congressional committees and subcommittees. Prior to joining the Fund, Dr. Collins was associate director/senior research associate at the New York Academy of Medicine, Division of Health and Science Policy. Earlier in her career, she was an associate editor at U.S. News & World Report, a senior economist at Health Economics Research, and a senior health policy analyst in the New York City Office of the Public Advocate. She holds an A.B. in economics from Washington University and a Ph.D. in economics from George Washington University.

Joseph Baratta

Joseph Baratta of Blackstone is global head of private equity and a member of the firm’s Management and Executive Committees. Since joining Blackstone in 1998, Baratta has been involved in the execution of Blackstone’s investments in Universal Orlando, Nycomed Pharmaceuticals, Houghton Mifflin, Spirit Group and is responsible for Blackstone’s investments in Seaworld Parks and Entertainment, Merlin Entertainments Group and Center Parcs, among others. In 2001, Baratta moved to London to help establish Blackstone’s corporate private equity business in Europe. Baratta also worked at Morgan Stanley in its mergers and acquisitions department. Baratta graduated with honors from Georgetown University where he currently serves on the University’s Board of Regents.

Stephen Labaton

Stephen Labaton advises companies on issues at the intersection of policy and law. He founded Georgetown Policy Advisers, LLC in 2010 following a 23-year career at The New York Times, where he was a senior writer in the Washington Bureau.
In 2009 Mr. Labaton was part of a small team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a Times series, “The Reckoning,” on the causes of the market crisis. He won a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism that year for the series. In 2003 Mr. Labaton won a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism in the category of beat reporting for his coverage of the Securities and Exchange Commission. That year he was part of a team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the national reporting category. In 2008 Mr. Labaton won the Futrell Award for excellence in communication and journalism, an award presented annually by Duke University’s Terry Sanford Institute.
Mr. Labaton joined the business section of The Times in 1986 as a clerk and became a legal affairs correspondent in New York in 1987 for the business section. In the fall of 1990, he was transferred to the Washington bureau of The Times.

Cristina Alesci

Cristina Alesci covers private equity and deal making for Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg News. Based in New York, she also contributes articles to Bloomberg Markets Magazine and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Alesci broke news on the largest buyout deals of 2012 and interviewed some of the major dealmakers in private equity including Blackstone Group Chairman and CEO Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone Group President and COO Tony James, KKR co-Chairman and co-CEO Henry Kravis and Carlyle Group co-CEO David Rubenstein. She has covered the collapse of commodity brokerage MF Global, the challenges facing Bank of America and potential conflicts of interest in leveraged lending.

Prior to joining Bloomberg L.P. in February 2009, Alesci worked at Pfizer Inc. in New York and at law firm Sidley Austin LLP.

Alesci is a graduate of the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism and earned her undergraduate degree from Pace University.

Alexander Navab

Alexander Navab joined KKR in 1993. He co-heads KKR’s North American Private Equity business and heads the Media and Communications industry team in the U.S. Mr. Navab serves on the Firm’s Management Committee, is the Global Co-Chair of the Private Equity Investment Committees and serves on the Capital Solutions Investment Committee. Mr. Navab played a significant role in the development of Borden, Intermedia Communications, IPREO, KSL Recreation, Neway Anchorlok, Newsquest Media, The Nielsen Company (formerly VNU Group), NuVox (NewSouth Communications), PanAmSat, RELTEC, Tenovis, Visant, Yellow Pages Group, Weld North, World Color Press, and Zhone Technologies. He is currently on the board of directors of IPREO, The Nielsen Company, Visant, and Weld North.

Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Navab was with James D. Wolfensohn Incorporated where he was involved in mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate finance advisory work. From 1987 to 1989, he was with Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he worked in the Investment Banking Department. He received a B.A. with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, from Columbia College, and an M.B.A. with High Distinction, Baker Scholar, Wolfe Award, from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. Navab serves on the Leadership Council of the Robin Hood Foundation: an organization dedicated to fighting poverty in New York City; he also serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Visitors of Columbia College, Columbia University.

Lewis DVorkin

Lewis DVorkin is chief product officer of Forbes Media. DVorkin was founder and CEO of True/Slant, which was acquired by Forbes in 2010. The acquisition marked a homecoming for DVorkin, who previously served as executive editor of Forbes. He has also worked at AOL, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and even TMZ.

Emily Friedlander Peck

Emily Friedlander Peck is managing editor, business, of The Huffington Post. Peck manages all business and money content at the Huffington Post. Prior to that she served as an editor at the Wall Street Journal and WSJ.com and at IP Law and Business.

Martin Wolk

Martin Wolk is executive business editor of NBC News Digital. Wolk manages all business and money content on NBCNews.com and TODAY.com. Prior to joining the company in 1999, when it was known as msnbc.com, Wolk worked at Reuters. He is based in Seattle.

Amy Zipkin

Amy Zipkin is a seasoned and versatile business journalist who reports on management and careers, small business, business travel and personal finance. Her by-lines include The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal special sections and others. She blogs about emerging business trends at www.amyzipkin.com.

From 2000-2010 she was a corporate contributing management columnist for The New York Times feature, “The Boss,” where her profiles ranged from John Chambers to Franklin Raines to Mark Thompson.

Amy received her B.A. in English Literature from SUNY Binghamton, studied 19th century British Literature at Exeter College, Oxford University and earned an M.Ed. from the University of Rochester, NY. Born and raised in The Bronx, New York she now lives in southwestern Connecticut.

Minda Zetlin

Minda Zetlin, president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, is a business and technology writer and speaker, a columnist for Inc.com, and author or co-author of five books, most recently The Geek Gap: Why Business and Technology People Don’t Understand Each Other and Why They Need Each Other to Survive. Founded in 1948, ASJA is an association of more than 1,300 of the nation’s most successful independent writers and book authors.

Jonathan Blum

Jonathan’s work regularly appears on TheStreet, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Entrepreneur.com and many other publications and websites. Prior to that he was a cable industry analyst for Kagan Media, and worked in various media and marketing capacities at CNN, Fortune Small Business, CNN.com, ABC News, CNBC, MTV and VH1. He sits on the board of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and is a graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York.

Rosina Rubin

Rosina Rubin is chief operating officer of Attitude New York Inc., a high-end chauffeured transportation service on the city’s West Side. Since joining the company in 1990, she has helped grow a struggling small business into a successful enterprise with more than 65 employees. Prior to entering the entrepreneurial arena, Rosina spent six years in corporate communications at NBC, and several years as a freelance writer for publications including New York magazine and Premiere.

In 2010, she appeared on a SABEW panel discussing reform of health care, which she oversees in her business. In her spare time, Rosina curates the work of her late aunt, painter Anna Walinska (1906-1997). She has curated seven exhibitions, including two in New York City, as well as the inaugural exhibition at the Center for Holocaust Studies at Clark University and an exhibit at the Ghetto Museum at the Terezin Memorial in the Czech Republic.